Mini Display Cabinet Makeover

It's not often you see little display cabinets like this and personally, I think they're really cute and a great way to display things. For years, it's been my nail polish storage and display cabinet and though I loved it for that, I thought it was about time it got a little makeover and a new purpose.

Now, this wall hanging display cabinet is a gorgeous and modern mini liquor bottle display cabinet that I cannot wait to have in our dining room when we move to match the dining table I DIYed last week. This glow up was so cheap and I'm so happy with how chic and stylish it looks now!



I got this wall-hanging cabinet about 5-6 years ago when I worked for Miss Selfridge in a BHS. I spotted it in the home department and thought was just too cute. I looked at it for weeks, maybe even months, and I remember finally buying it for something ridiculous like £12 with my staff discount and the blue cross sale.


As a nail polish display cabinet, it worked wonders! I could see all my nail polish, I grouped them by brand and I had space for extras in the little drawer at the bottom. But since receiving a gin advent calendar at Christmas, I had this idea to display them in there and hang this above a drinks trolley or cabinet in our new dining room.

I'd been waiting until we moved in to do this DIY but since we still don't know when that is, I thought why not get started now. At least it's ready for when we do move in now!


The cabinet was looking really dull and definitely needed a fresh coat of paint. With about a third of the tin of Ronseal furniture paint that I had left from the dining room table DIY, I thought I could use this to paint the cabinet and then do something fun on the glass. The only thing I wanted to keep the same was the cabinet's doorknobs. They're so pretty already and I also liked the idea of a gold and grey colour combo for the cabinet's final look.


You will need:


Step 1: take the cabinet apart



The first thing I had to do for this DIY was to take the cabinet apart. There were quite a few pieces so I was sure to keep them all together and remember where they went. I also had to be really careful with the glass because it's thin and isn't that safety glass. It's the only thing I don't like about this cabinet.

Step 2: paint the cabinet


I'd normally recommend sanding down the surface of whatever it is that you are painting or applying a primer but I'm not going to lie to you, I'd spent so long sanding that dining table and my hands were so chapped I couldn't have imagined doing anything worse than that.

Instead, I decided to just clean the surfaces to make sure there wasn't any oils or dust to stop the paint sticking to the surfaces before I began painting.

It actually didn't take that long to paint even without the sanding or priming. The first layer was really thin but the second layer covered the whole cabinet beautifully. I really liked the chalky paint effect on it.

Step 3: paint geometric lines on the glass.


After painting the cabinet, it was time to get creative with the glass. I could have left the cabinet right there but I wanted something a little different. So after googling around for some pattern designs, I settled on going for a geometric print.

To make sure the print was central on the glass, I measured it out to find the centre point which was simple enough but then being able to measure out every triangle was going to be a bit tedious so I just used the halfway point of the glass (longways) to help me draw a somewhat central geometric print using my Uni paint marker in gold. I used these on my sharpie mug DIY years ago and they're my absolute favourite paint pens!

I was actually really happy with the final design and so with one pane done, I just placed the next one on top of it and traced the same lines on it again to make sure it matched.

The final look:

Here are the before and after shots of the cabinet:


I am so happy with how this cabinet turned out. I knew it was going to be a simple and easy DIY but if I'm being honest, I didn't think I'd love it as much as I do!


The finish is lovely and the detail are simple but still very pretty.

I also love the way the bottles look in the cabinet. It's like it was made to be a little liquor cabinet!


As well as being a liquor cabinet, this cabinet could store a number of small things. It could be a display case for figurines, collectables, souvenirs or nail polish like I had beforehand. Though there aren't tons of possibilities, I think it's a really cute way to store the few things it'd be great for!


Side note: How cute is my collection of gin though? Can someone buy me a gin calendar every Christmas, please?

It's been really nice finally giving this cabinet a makeover. I've had the idea in my head since Christmas and I'm so happy with it. As I mentioned at the beginning of the post, I'm planning on putting it in the dining room with the table. I really want to hang this on the wall (it has hanging hooks on the back!) and have a cabinet underneath for all our fancy glasses and alcoholic drinks. I've already been looking at the IVAR cabinets but I think this one might be one we have to wait and do when we move in. I just know it'll look amazing though!



I'd love to know what you think of this gin cabinet makeover in the comments! Don't forget you can pin this DIY on Pinterest where you can also follow me for more DIY inspo and updates on when I post with my blog board.

1 comment

  1. I love this!! It literally looks like something you'd buy from Oliver Bonas or John Lewis it's so well done! I really like the before and after shots too, it's really nice to compare them side by side! Looking forward to more DIYs in your new house!!

    Lots of love,
    Molly xo

    ReplyDelete